


Your Smile

by DeeChicagoFireFan



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: BFFP, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26248855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeChicagoFireFan/pseuds/DeeChicagoFireFan
Summary: Matt misses Sylvie's smile and sets out on a mission to make her smile again.Set sometime after season 8.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 15
Kudos: 81





	Your Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, how are you all doing?
> 
> This is based on the "I've missed this" dialogue prompt for the September BFFP challenge.
> 
> Hope you guys like it!

Matt Casey has a serious problem — it has been more than a week since he has seen Sylvie smiling. In fact, he has barely seen her around in the firehouse or even outside the firehouse. Work has been hectic, and since Molly's is closed temporarily, he hasn't been getting many chances to see her outside of work. She has been living alone for a while now, so it must get lonely sometimes, and to make matters worse, she sees so many people fighting for their lives against the virus whenever she is on call. Matt doesn't know when Sylvie's problems started to become his own, but he intends to make her feel like herself again.

Matt's thoughts are interrupted by Cruz.

"Morning, Captain!" Cruz says cheerfully, as he opens his locker.

"Morning, Cruz. Has Sylvie come in yet?" Matt asks, turning around.

Cruz smiles at that, and nods. "Yeah, she's in the kitchen getting coffee."

"Thanks," Matt says as he closes his locker and heads to the common room.

Matt walks in and sees Sylvie sitting alone at the table, sipping on her coffee and reading something on her phone. He feels a smile forming on his face as he walks towards her. Before he can reach the table, the bells go off and ambulance 61 is called. She pockets her phone and rushes past him with a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Matt presses his lips together and then goes to find Severide.

"Hey, you got a minute?" Matt asks, as he knocks and opens the door of Severide's quarters.

Severide turns around in his chair, and puts down his pen. "Sure, what's up?"

"Have you noticed that Brett isn't really herself lately?"

Severide smirks. "I'm sure _you_ have noticed." He continues, "She has been having a difficult year, and with everything that's going on, maybe she's just taking some time and figuring out how to cope."

"Yeah. Yeah you're right, it's probably that. But I just want to lift her spirits a little, you know?" Matt asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

Severide gives him a knowing smile, and asks, "What did you have in mind? Gonna ask her out on a date?"

Matt's eyes widen for a fraction of a second. Are his feelings for her that obvious to everyone? He tries to hide is reaction, and replies, "Well no, I was thinking we could all hang out at the loft tomorrow night? You, me, Kidd and Brett. Maybe watch a movie together or something."

"So a double date then?" Severide asks, still teasing him.

Matt blushes but gives him a pointed look.

Severide puts up his hands in defeat. "Alright man, I'll let Stella know. You can ask Sylvie to come over," Severide says.

"Thanks!" Matt says and leaves.

The paramedics get called out again and again but they make it back in time for lunch. Sylvie grabs a plate and sits down at the table, and starts to eat quietly. Matt comes up from behind to ask her about her plans for the next day.

"Hey, haven't seen you around all morning!" Matt says, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Sylvie turns to look at him. "Yeah it's been a busy day so far. At least I get to eat a freshly cooked meal now," she says and goes back to eating her food.

Matt gets a plate for himself and sits next to her at the table. He turns to Sylvie to say something and the bells go off again.

"Oh I jinxed it!" Sylvie groans, and takes one more bite before standing up.

All units are called out for an apartment building fire. "Well you jinxed it for all of us," Matt jokes. When the address is announced, they both freeze.

"Isn't that your-" Matt starts to speak.

Sylvie turns to look at him, concern etched into her face, and completes his sentence, "My apartment building."

Matt mirrors her worried expression and they run outside. Wow, this year has really gone to hell.

When they arrive at the scene, Boden starts to give out orders, after getting a good look at the situation. Two of the five floors in the building are ablaze.

"The third floor! That's my floor. There's an old lady, Mrs. Myers, who lives next door, she lives alone. Could you please check if she's still inside?" Sylvie asks Matt, her voice laced with panic, as she looks around to see all the people who made it out.

"Of course," Matt nods and assembles his team.

Victims start to pour out, and Boden calls for more ambulances. Sylvie watches the entrance of her building anxiously for any sign of Mrs. Myers, while treating the other patients with minor injuries.

Matt finally walks out, carrying an elderly woman, and he sees Sylvie breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Matt!" Sylvie calls after him as he goes back inside to get more people out.

"Mrs. Myers, it's me, Sylvie. I'm gonna take care of you, you just have to stay with me, please," Sylvie tells the unconscious woman, as she tries to blink away the tears welling up in her eyes. She intubates the woman and gets into the ambulance with her partner.

They get another call as soon as they drop Mrs. Myers off at Med, and it's past dinner time when ambulance 61 comes back to the house. Sylvie makes a beeline for the bunk room and sinks into her bed. Matt lets her sleep, and prays that there are no more calls for the rest of the shift.

Matt's prayers are answered and in the morning, Sylvie wakes up after getting a full night's sleep. Matt follows her outside and catches up to her. She looks refreshed. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess I needed that," Sylvie replies softly. "I'm going to Med now to check on Mrs. Myers now and then I'll go to the apartment to see if anything is salvageable."

"I can come with you, if you like. I can help you sort through the things in your apartment, and maybe check the extent of the damage caused by the fire," Matt offers, hoping that she will accept his help.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to," Sylvie says.

"It's the least I can do," Matt insists and looks into her eyes.

"Okay, thank you," Sylvie replies, with a slight smile.

At Med, Will tells Sylvie that Mrs. Myers is on ventilator, but there's a good chance that she will make a full recovery. Matt watches as Sylvie goes into the woman's room, and holds her hand and talks to her. She walks out crying and his heart sinks. He gives her a hug and Sylvie gladly accepts it.

"Thank you for being here," Sylvie says, sniffling.

"You don't need to thank me, Sylvie," Matt says, rubbing her back to soothe her. "And Mrs. Myers has a chance to make a complete recovery, so don't worry."

Sylvie nods into his shoulder, pulls back, and wipes her tears. Matt hates seeing her like this. All he wanted to do today was make her smile, but the universe had other plans.

They drive to Sylvie's apartment, and walk into the building with two cardboard boxes. Sylvie goes into Mrs. Myers' apartment and starts to gather things that aren't burnt and that might have some sentimental value. After collecting whatever she can, she walks into her apartment and looks around at what used to be a bright and colourful home. Now all she sees is grey, much like her life right now. Matt walks up to her with a box half filled with items that withstood the fire. Coffee mugs and photo frames.

"I'm so sorry, Sylvie," Matt says, sighing. "I know what it feels like to watch your whole life's collections, and all your belongings turn to ash like that."

Sylvie nods and looks at him sympathetically.

"You can check the rooms and kitchen again," Matt says, and hands the box to her.

Sylvie walks over to the kitchen and looks around. "Mrs. Myers and I started to exchange recipes last month. We both share the love for cooking, so we used to try eachother's recipes every week. She is just the sweetest lady."

Matt hears the pain in her voice. "She sounds like a really nice person," Matt says, and adds, "We're all going to pray for her."

They spend an hour at the apartment and go back to their cars, with the boxes.

"You can stay at our loft till you figure things out, and Stella will be more than happy to lend you some clothes and whatever you need," Matt says, loading the boxes into his truck.

"Yeah Stella made the same offer too," Sylvie replies. "I'll probably do that, I don't know what I would have done without you guys. Thank you," she says gratefully.

At Severide's loft that evening, Stella and Sylvie take one room, and Matt and Kelly take the other room. This really wasn't the "double date" he had in mind, and he hopes that things start to look up for Sylvie.

When he wakes up in the morning, he expects to find Sylvie asleep in the room, but it's empty. Stella is making coffee in the kitchen, so he goes and sits at the island.

"Where did Sylvie go?" Matt asks, furrowing his brow.

"She said she wanted to check on Mrs. Myers this morning, she should be back any minute," Stella says, and pours him a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, it seems like she and Mrs. Myers were close. I hope she pulls through."

At that moment, Sylvie walks in, and takes off her jacket, looking anguished.

Matt's stomach drops, thinking she probably got bad news about her neighbour. He can't bear the thought of Sylvie losing anyone else she cares about, right now. He gets up and walks to her and Stella follows him.

"What happened?" Matt asks in a low voice.

"Mrs. Myers is awake and she is breathing on her own," Sylvie replies, looking at Stella and Matt.

"That's good, isn't it?" Stella asks, looking confused. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Yeah it is good news, but she told me how the fire started. She left something cooking in her oven and fell asleep while reading a book. She only woke up when it was too late to get out. Her smoke alarm didn't go off either," Sylvie says, her voice quivering. "I mean I know she lives alone, I should have asked someone to keep an eye on her!"

"Hey, this isn't your fault, Sylvie," Matt says, trying to console her. "You couldn't have known about her smoke alarm malfunctioning."

"Yeah, and she's going to be fine, right?" Stella comes around to put and arm around Sylvie.

"Yeah, you guys are right. I'll take better care of her when she moves into a new apartment," Sylvie says, and goes and sits on the couch. Matt follows her and sits next to her to comfort her.

"Kelly and I have some errands to run today, you two are going to be okay here, right?" Stella asks, pointing at them and they both nod. She goes into the room to wake up Severide and get ready.

After showering and having breakfast, Matt and Sylvie settle on the couch again, and discuss the damage to the building and whether it can be repaired.

Matt's phone buzzes and he sees a picture and a text from his sister, Christie. He chuckles and types out a reply. When he looks up, he is met with Sylvie's curious gaze.

"My niece's dog gave birth to a litter of four pups, a few weeks ago. Now they've opened their eyes and they are trying to walk around," Matt explains and shows Sylvie the picture on his phone.

Sylvie's eyes light up as she looks at the puppies adoringly. "Awww they look so cute!" she exclaims.

Matt suddenly gets an idea. "Do you want to go meet them?"

"At your sister's place? Does your sister even know who I am?" Sylvie asks, looking a little shocked.

"Yeah, I have mentioned you a couple of times. What do you say?"

Sylvie smiles, "Okay, sure! And I'd love to meet your sister."

Matt feels elated and texts Christie to let her know he's coming with a friend.

They both get ready, and Matt drives them to Christie's. When they arrive, Christie opens the door excitedly, and greets Matt with a hug, and then welcomes Sylvie with a hug too.

"So, is texting you pictures of my puppies the only way I can get you to come and visit? I should do it more often!" Christie laughs.

Sylvie giggles at that and looks at Matt. He smiles back shrugging, his heart filling with joy that he is finally able to see Sylvie smiling again.

"Where is Violet? Does she have her online classes now?" Matt asks, looking around the house.

"Yeah she's in her room, but she will be coming down for lunch soon," Christie says, and then turns to Sylvie. "So, Sylvie, it is so nice to finally meet you. Matt talks about you all the time!" Christie smiles, and playfully punches his arm.

Sylvie blushes and replies, "It's so nice to meet you too! Thank you for having me." She turns and gives Matt a questioning look.

Matt doesn't want to lie, so he just shakes his head and changes the topic. "Okay, Christie, leave her alone. She only came here to see the puppies."

Sylvie punches his arm this time, and he rubs it while giving her a confused glance. "I didn't come here only for the puppies. I wanted to meet your sister too, and hear any embarrassing stories she has of you," Sylvie says and looks at Christie with a grin on her face.

Christie loops her arm through Sylvie's and leads her to the couch. "Oh I have all our childhood pictures, I'm guessing you would love to see those!"

Sylvie looks back at Matt who has covered his face in embarrassment and she can't help but laugh heartily.

After an hour of listening to Christie regale Sylvie with his childhood stories, Matt looks at his watch and tries to get his sister to stop. She nods in understanding, and gets up.

"Okay, come on Sylvie, you must be looking forward to playing with the puppies," Christie says, as she leads her to a room at the back.

A beagle with four of her pups are snuggling together in a small bed. The mother hears Christie's voice, gets up and walks towards her with her tail wagging. "Come on Cassie, time for food." She leaves Matt and Sylvie alone in the room with the puppies.

The puppies start to open their eyes and move around after their mother has left. "Awwww!" Sylvie whispers, beaming at the sight in front her. She goes to the bed and sits down on the floor and picks up one of the puppies. Matt follows her lead and watches Sylvie as she looks down at the puppy.

The puppy fits perfectly in the palm of her hand, and Sylvie holds her hand up to show Matt. "Look at how tiny she is! And look at those tiny, cute little paws!" she says laughing, and then holds the puppy to her chest. She flashes her vibrant smile at him.

"I've missed this," Matt says, looking at her.

Sylvie doesn't understand. She asks, "Missed what?"

"Your smile. The one that lights up any room you're in," Matt replies, and touches the dimple on her cheek lightly.

Sylvie smiles widely at that. "You're the reason I'm smiling," she stresses. "Thank you for bringing me here, I really needed this. And you have such a great family."

Her eyes twinkle as she remembers something. "And just the image of teenage Matt Casey with long parted hair is enough to keep me laughing for days!" she teases, waving her hand at his face.

Matt laughs and then shrugs. "In my defense, it was the nineties. Bet you thought it looked good on Leonardo DiCaprio, and Nick Carter," he remarks, pointing his finger at her.

"You're right, it did look good on them." Sylvie pauses and then continues. "And it looked cute on you too," she admits, smiling.

Matt doesn't know why, but he's pleased to hear it.

Christie walks in after a few minutes. "Kids, lunch is almost ready!"

"Oh let me help you set up the table," Sylvie offers as she gets up. Matt gets up to help too.

Violet joins them downstairs, and meets Sylvie and gives her uncle an approving look. While Violet and Sylvie are talking about school, Christie gets a moment alone with Matt.

"She's a really great girl and I can see how happy she makes you. I'm so glad that you moved on, after your divorce," Christie says, leaning on her brother.

"Yeah, she is amazing, isn't she?" Matt replies, looking at Sylvie.

Sylvie gets along great with his niece and sister, and she seems to be back to her gleeful self. Life is so much better with her in it, Matt thinks. Maybe he does need to get around to asking her out on a date. He knows Severide definitely saw that coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated 🙂


End file.
